Does polishing change the energy of the stone?
In the most simple terms, yes. Does this mean its a bad thing, not necessarily. I’ve seen many partially polished crystals, that are such small touch ups its almost like they haven’t been polished at all. Others have been transformed into a point, flame, sphere, cat, dolphin, etc. When a Master carves a piece you can be assured they are bringing out the inner characteristic of the piece. Here’s a very interesting link to the polishing process of one incredible piece by a Master Carver. To Cut a Giant – By Lawrence Stoller (Lapidary Journal, Jan 2000). This may be an extreme piece, but it goes to show that Master Carvers & Cutters listen to the stones they are working with. Many stones, such as the giant in the article are covered in a thick crust that hides their inner beauty. Many times polishing and cutting is done to give a piece a new lease on life.
